An Except from-“A sociological Investigation into the effects of the Diaspora on the development of the black Identity in Western societies”- Written by Myself.

One perspective presented regarding the development and sustainment of the ideology of race, is presented by Cox (as cited in Levine, 2006) who drew a correlation between racial prejudice and the increased travel of Europeans to different parts of the world. Cox was particularly interested in racial prejudice within the theoretical framework of Marxism, arguing that the ideology of race was driven by the convenience that free slave labour provided for the growing capitalist society. All employees were encouraged to be looked upon as capitalist property, causing the ruling class to only be concerned with those in the working class, pertaining to the amount of profit that could be obtained from their labour. The objectification of Africans and those of lower working classes, was to ensure that no personal relationships between the two classes developed.

Cox likened the subjugation of Africans by Europeans to the exploitation suffered by those in the working class at the hands of the bourgeoisie in the capitalist system in industrialised societies. The justification of this exploitation focused on how unalike Europeans were from Africans, and how these differences were utilised to cultivate the belief that Africans were inferior, simply because of their differences; Akin to the way in which the rich see the poor in capitalist systems.

“So far as ideology is concerned, the capitalists proceed in the normal way: that is to say, they develop and exploit ethno-centricism and show by any irrational or illogical means available, that the working class of their own race or whole people of other races, whose labour they are bent upon exploiting, are something apart: (a) Not human at all. (b) Only part human. (c) Inferior humans and so on” (Cox, as cited in Levine, 2006:212).

The perspective of using difference to create the link between race and a sense of inferiority is an idea also presented by Jordan (1962). Jordan did not engage with the Marxist analogy as Cox does, but does concur with the recognition of difference that the Europeans took notice of within Africans physically, culturally and religiously. Jordan explains that the first European interactions with Africans were facilitated upon the basis of trade and not racial prejudice, with Europeans initially seeing the Africans as just other men, despite their differences. This view makes sense of the need for the justification of exploitation that Cox speaks of, as to enslave those that one once conducted business with would surely have a negative impact on the conscience.

In agreement with Jordan, Fields argues that racial ideology did not simply appear when slavery did, but took time to become normative (Fields, 1990). Fields argues that the main reason behind the longevity of the ideology of race and subsequent racial discrimination is that the basis of the argument suggesting hat Africans are innately inferior, is biological in origin.

“People are more readily oppressed if they are already seen as inferior by nature. The reverse is more to the point. People are more readily seen as inferior if they are already oppressed” (1990: 106).

The social discourse of race and it’s dependence upon the hierarchal categorisation of a people, is also highlighted in an analysis of the social purpose of the concept of race and the social discourse of race by Malik (1996). Malik describes the ideology of race as a result of social change.drawing from Rousseau’s argument, Malik stated that inequality between groups was based upon two different categories; the social and the physical. The social concept of race, a result of one of these differences becoming the other, or rather the two differences combining.

Race is a social category that in time merged into being thought of as so natural, that the assumption developed that it must be biological in origin. The ideology of race as presented by Malik, was a result of the contradiction between the premise that democracy is based upon equality and capitalism’s inherent nature of inequality; The ideology of race according to this perspective developed as a way to explain and justify social inequality in a society that considered itself an advocate for social equality, both socially and economically.

Malik goes on to argue that the development of the discourse of race in western European society was due to the rapid economic and industrial growth fueled by the French revolution in the 19th century. After such intense growth and change, the ruling class felt the strain that was driven by both the creation of the working class and the inevitable degeneration that the lack of constant progress inevitably would bring.

The concept of race placed the inevitable regression of society in a certain perspective and fostered a sense of superiority in the Europeans for the ‘progress’ that had been made thus far in comparison to other societal groups. One example of this being the view that African societies were primitive in comparison to European societies, due to the absence of African industrialisation at this time, or alternatively cultural, with the view that Europeans would always be superior simply because they were European. Race as a social construct became more socially profound than it was biologically. The superiority of the white race that the ideology of race preserved, prohibited feelings of any future inadequacies that the European ruling class may develop within themselves, a view that Fields concurs.

“facts of nature spawned by the needs of ideology sometimes acquire greater power over the mind than facts nature spawned by nature itself” (Fields, 1990:106).

The concept of ‘race’ was a result of the permanence of the social categories that capitalism created.

References and sources

Fields, B.J., 1990. Slavery, race and ideology in the United States of America. New Left Review, (181), p.95.

Malik, K. (1996). The meaning of race: Race, history and culture in Western society. Great Britain. NYU Press.

Jordan., W.D. (1962). Modern Tensions and the Origins of American Slavery. The Journal of Southern History. 28 (1), 18-30.

“As influential as a hashtag may be in the moment, if a hashtag is all it is to be, can it be considered truly influential at all?

I have been absent for a while. Life took over and admittedly, I have not been as organised as I would have liked recently.

In my time away from posting on BlackBritishConcerned, there have been a few topics within the realm of race and society that have crossed my mind often enough to explore, one of which being the surge of exposure of the black agenda and pro-blackness itself in the mainstream media, social media, and subsequently our everyday conversations within the black community. This growing interest in the development and welfare of those in the African diaspora has predominantly been driven by the constant influx of American media providing a mainstream platform for these issues, as the highlight reel of continuous overt racial inequality taking place there continues to play.

Aside from the often absurdly biased nature of American media, with their use of inflammatory language, open expression of often discriminatory views, lack of professional decorum at times (ahem, fox news) and a conduct one would never find on British television, American popular culture certainly made American black history month 2016 one to remember and it was thoroughly entertaining to see play out. However, what goes up, always must come down and sadly, this sudden rise of black engagement in the collective “black power” conversation is not exempt from this inevitable slump.

As America is considered such a prolific nation, It is only natural that what they eat, the UK tastes also, as much of their nationwide worthy media coverage quickly becomes our own. I have found within my recent daily interactions that the black concern over black issues and the past and present treatment of our people has increased. Despite remaining open and encouraging to these interactions, I cannot help but wonder if is there any real depth to this new found wave of ‘consciousness’ rippling through the black community? Or are we, as black people are so naturally gifted in doing, simply keeping up with the current trends?

Maybe those that start up ‘black chats’ with me (as I affectionately term them), do so to humour me as they know that if it’s about blackness then I am here for it, my attention is theirs and so is my active participation. However when an individual who has shown no prior interest in my opinion on said issues is suddenly all ears, I do wonder (the sceptic in me to blame), whether my views are being poached to be taken to another conversation out of my sight and passed off as their own in an attempt to remain hip whilst the black trend is hot, maybe?

Awake, but not woke?

Becoming re-acquainted with your history as a person of African ancestry requires a genuine interest to know, an open mind to truth and above all else: research. To gain individual perspective on information that for so long has been deliberately fragmented in an attempt to omit those who wished to keep their hands clean, and to thoroughly understand the intracacies of systemic racism in addition to how it is woven into the fabric of western societies, is going to take much more than a few cups of herbal tea, an Erykah Badu inspired head wrap and investing in the most unrefined Shea butter one can find. Many are falling in love simply with the symbolism of black consciousness rather than the purpose of the learning itself. All whilst still navigating their lives within a semi-conscious, uninformed daze.

In a social climate as fickle as the one in which we reside in at present, where popularity trumps genuine interest almost every time, the categorisation of the long-standing black social condition of racial oppression and lack of knowledge of self as a newspaper headline or a hashtag on twitter is bittersweet. All publicity is good publicity of course, but the conditional attention afforded to black issues time and again by our own people can only lead those who are steadfast in their independent research and engagement with black social issues, whether this engagement be professionally or casually sourced to wonder; Just how much time do we have before authentic blackness falls out of favour once again?

The purpose of the creation of black spaces and certain black events, including black history month is to honour the history that led black Americans to make the progress in the fight for the level of equality that they have in the present day. Awards such the BET awards (which is white owned, may I add) reserve recognition for artists that make music within the space of black culture, not only black artists (because white people win the BET awards too.)

Both America and Britain are western societies, they are white dominated. All of the space is already white space. I find it disgusting that Stacey is proposing that black Americans give up the little black social space that they have accrued, all in the pursuit of some pseudo equality, as though black people are the ones that are keeping racial discrimination alive by simply mentioning it. Black people are still being shot in the street like dogs and the perpetrators are walking free, it’s the 1960’s all over again.

Stacey Dash has obviously sold her soul and signed the contract of post-racialism and good for her, but many do not have, nor do they want this for themselves. If she wants to abscond from her blackness and join the “slavery was a long time ago, get over it” team, then that is her prerogative. However for her to suggest that the rest of the black US population should do the same, many of whom who are not sitting on the same fame, money and European features as she is, is abhorrent and she needs to go sit down somewhere.

Personally, the most prominent issue I have with all of this is the fact that black people care so much about the acceptance of white society In the first place. I do agree with Stacey on one thing however: Black people either need to run toward segregation or run away from it, we cannot remain ‘frenemies’ with white society if we want to see real change. I i am not suggesting we separate ourselves physically from white society, I refer to political, economic and educational segregation. Black needs black in these fields of society as these are the areas in which real change is made, the fields of society that will better our lives.

Equality is not something we can ask for any longer, as it simply will not be given by those who will not benefit from giving it. Equality needs to be built and sustained, obtained through black education and financial literacy, and most of all through proper organisation and unity.

The journey to uplifting black society is not about knocking down the door and begging to be let in because it is raining outside; It is building a house of our own, even if it is not as glamorous as that white house.

In an attempt at reflection (which I need more practice at anyway) I pose an open question to you:

What are your initial observations of white supremacist discourse, systemic racism and the illogical thought that the aforementioned condone in contemporary British society?

Well, depending upon one’s level of engagement with white supremacist discourse, it’s aims and the way in which it conducts itself within British society, opinions of white supremacist thought can range from the complexity of a complete historical breakdown of the whole saga, all the way down to summarising one’s feelings with the use of simple statements such as, “I do not trust white people” or explaining the way in which black Brits are perceived by the majority population being solely down to the fact that “we are black”.

However deep (or shallow) one’s understanding of systemic racism and the thought that is derived from it is, I feel safe to assume that we can all agree upon one thing: white supremacist thought possesses an unfaltering audacity that engulfs every aspect of it.

In memos written over thirty years ago after the riots in Tottenham, Brixton, Liverpool and Birmingham, Letwin stated that economic deprivation in urban areas was not a viable reason for rioting by black people in poor areas, as white people in Britain had withstood similar hardships and had not resorted to such measures. Letwin also stated that black British communities possessed “bad moral attitudes” and that this played a large role in Black Britain’s inability to cope with poverty.

The offensive comments made by MP Oliver Letwin resurfaced recently.

Letwin stated in the memo:

“Riots, criminality and social disintegration are caused solely by individual characters and attitudes. So long as bad moral attitudes remain, all efforts to improve the inner cities will flounder.”

He then went on to say,

Lower-class unemployed white people had lived for years in appalling slums without a breakdown of public order on anything like the present scale; in the midst of depression, people in Brixton went out, leaving their grocery money in a bag at the front door, and expecting to see groceries when they got back.

Laying the reasons for the riots solely at the door of various problems within the black British community, and then to go on to compare black British reactions to adversity to what white people may or may not be doing in similar situations is laughable. Letwin fails to acknowledge the ongoing racial unrest in various areas in the UK in the 1980’s prior to the riots, alongside the unstable relationship between the police and black Brits and other pent up frustrations that came with just being black in Britain. These comments cast aside the plight of black British people and show little interest in remedying the causes, however focus on chastising the symptoms and the individuals that exhibit them.

A Telegraph article written by Charles Moore, stated that the outrage towards Letwin’s comments is unwarranted as he is “no racist”. May I respond by highlighting that to make comments that isolate race and race alone as the independent variable that brings forth a negative or anti-social response to societal pressures of an ethnic group, and then to compare this behaviour to that of another ethnic group who are not subject to these same pressures , without incorporating into your analysis the system that encapsulates all of these individuals; a system that is not built, nor modified to facilitate racial equality or equal opportunities amongst all ethnicities, is inherently racist.

It is in instances such as these that the audacity of white supremacist thought pokes it’s head out from it’s lair of entitlement and reminds us all that nothing much is new about being black in Britain, except for the year, that is.

The religious construction of race and Gender, ‘white Jesus’ and the Journey to spiritualism and self.

A personal account.

“If we were made in his image then call us by our names,
Most intellects do not believe in god, but the fear us just the same”

-Erykah Badu, On & On

Oh religion religion.

Religion and spirituality are topics I plan to discuss on numerous occasions during the BlackBritishConcerned journey. Both play a large part in black identity, both in the continent of Africa and in the African diaspora. Christmas is not long away, and with Jesus being “the reason for the season”, I wanted to provide some insight into my thoughts on God and religion .

I spent most of my childhood in the Christian church, and I loved it. I loved the people. It shaped me, what I valued and what I did not, and I learnt a vast amount from the experiences I had there. The biggest lesson being the importance of God, being connected to God and the acknowledgement of a higher power than myself. Ironically, one of the only parts of church that I did not take with me into my adult life at all was the religion.

Some will have read that last sentence twice. To some, religion and God are the same thing. Are the two synonymous? Yes, of course, but the same? Well not to me.

The quote in the title is one I became familiar with through a post I saw on social media, and it is a quote that I fell in love with instantly. It struck a chord with me so much so that I could not shake it. However as much as I desired to purchase the t-shirt I initially saw the quote printed on, I was hesitant. As quickly as I had added the purchase to my online shopping cart, I removed it again.

This decision was probably determined by the fact that I am aware of the quote’s sharp dichotomy to the European featured, male version of Jesus as a form of God that we have all become so accustomed to in the black community, and I was not sure how it would be received when worn. As much as I enjoy partaking in dialogue that engages with both spirituality and religion, when the identity of God is introduced into the conversation, unless you are ready for the onslaught of verbal criticism, being told you “lack faith”, or have come armed with your ‘let’s agree to disagree’ mindset, it just isn’t worth it.

Despite the fact that in many black christian churches, women win in the male to female congregational ratio almost everytime; I consider the westernisation and patriarchal personification of God within Christianity to have placed my black womanhood in a quandry. According to christianity, God is not female, and he was certainly NOT black, and in short, I was not down with any of it.

The lack of logic in the paradigm of religion and accepting the uncertainty of my place within it, all for the sake of a regimented connection to an idea of God that I did not resonate with anyway, made me uncomfortable. The idea of professing that the only type of connection to God available to me was through devotion to a male, European looking (or at best racially ambiguous) deity, had a racially and gender based hierarchal congruence to the white (and black) patriarchy that I already found myself living within every day in white western society.In a world in which all parts of identity are tugged and pulled to meet standards and respect social guidelines, I could not ‘fall in a row’ with my spirituality as well. It belonged to me, and it needed to be free.

I found that the issue I had wasn’t that God is not personified as a black female in particular; But that God is personified at all. It was the encapsulation of it all.

I resonate with the idea that God is everything that we see and God is as individual as the person beholding God. I believe that God must be found within self before experienced in any sort of outward expression. I am more interested in the active search for fulfilment in self and the God within us all, rather than in searching for validation in fulfilling someone’s, or something else’s idea of how we should experience a relationship as hand-crafted as ours with a higher being.

The phrase, “God is with you, God is within you, God is you”, took on a life engulfing meaning that I could live by. Living and feeling well, remaining present, grateful and always on the search for better were all things that I could feel, that I felt apart of.

For the first time ever, I felt that I was on my way to really knowing God, for myself. In an unregulated and uninterrupted way.

But what about those at the other end of the spectrum? Can you just be TOO black?

In younger years, I remember when one black person would tell another that they were ‘so black’. This was normally said in jest, when the subject person had displayed what was deemed typical ‘black’ behaviour. Such ‘black’ behaviours, which commonly are behaviours synonymous with what are considered ‘ghetto’ behaviours, were the source of the joke. Being told you were ‘too black’ was a verbal seal of black authenticity from your peers. Nobody got offended, nobody was irritated. It was all good.

But then there is the other type of being ‘too black’. The type that is always causing trouble, making black people feel bad about themselves and their lives. You know, the menaces to black society? Causing mayhem and breaking laws.

I’m Just joking, they are actually just speaking out about black issues and advocating for change.

Being labelled as ‘too black’, ‘earthy’ or my personal favourite, having my cousin sing “I am not my hair” by India Arie to me whenever I say anything even suspected as having a pro-black agenda, make me chuckle and frown at the same time. Even if not meant to insult, I have come to associate these types of comments with criticism of what I feel is important, and not the constructive type.

Having an opinion as a young person regarding black society and it’s issues is often met with lukewarm, actually no sorry; a stone cold reception. Either because others just want you to shut up, turn on the BET channel and ‘be young’, or because in their opinion, you have no business challenging the status Quo and the black images of dysfunction presented as normality in the media.

In addition to refusing to buy into the guise of post-racialism, a black person who draws attention to issues that can be improved in our community, sign-posts sources for further reading to others regarding our history and cultural origins, and stays well-read in an attempt to remain knowledgeable whilst navigating as a black person through white social spaces; is not being too black, they are practising racial and cultural awareness.

I do not believe one can ever be ‘too black’. Do you?

To the universe and it’s creator,

for the atrocities that take place all over this world and for all of the lives lost unjustly,

I pray you bring those affected some comfort at this time.

I pray peace has found all of those who have lost their lives.

Let the tragedies such as the ones that we have witnessed, remind us to appreciate the value of all human life, and reconnect us with humanitarianism in all of it’s forms. To propel advocacy towards the reduction of worldwide suffering and the eradication of terrorism and massacre.

God is with us.

God is within us.

Ashe

Sunday morning.

I sat in my living room watching the news coverage of the Paris bombings that had taken place the Friday evening before and were allegedly carried out by members of the extreme Islamic group, ISIS. I thought of the lives lost and the turmoil it had placed France and it’s citizens in, and felt genuinely aggrieved for them.

I was also still equally aggrieved over the Massacre at a University in Garissa Kenya,that took place in April of this year and the lack of Western media attention that it received. Both Paris and Kenya experienced tragic incidents, however I am being given the impression that the media do not agree, even though 147 people in Kenya died. In contrast to the lack of airtime Kenya was given, the Paris coverage has been endless. In fact, it has been on loop.

I wonder if the obvious lack of Western news coverage on the Kenya attacks in comparison to the recent Paris attacks, is simply down to an imbalance of newsworthiness between the two stories, or a case of western de-sensitisation to non-white suffering?

The argument of newsworthiness is an interesting one. I am sure if the Garissa university terrorist attack had taken place in an American or European university , it would have been all over our television screens and there would have been one minute silences being set up all over the place. It appears that the constant exposure of non-white suffering to western viewers has made stories like Kenya’s played out and not worth the trouble of covering.

So, are white lives really more newsworthy than black lives?

When speaking in the case of western media, the answer in short, is yes.

Terrorism for us, ‘Just too bad’ for you

Aside from the disgust I feel at what has happened to the innocent people who have lost their lives and were injured in Paris, the fact remains that this attack was an ISIS reprisal for France’s part in the ongoing unrest in Syria, and this, apart from it being an attack on a European country, is a significant aspect to the story and the attention that it is receiving.

The perpetrator’s identity is significant because it means that there is now yet another page to add to the western ‘war on terror’ portfolio that The USA and Europe have been building since that fateful day on September 11th, 2001. This of course, furthers the agenda toward the inevitable ostracisation of Islam and all of it’s people, despite the extremism of only a few.

Although the Kenya attack was also an act of terrorism, it is widely agreed that the victims of terrorism (especially Islamic terrorism) as shown through the lense of western media, are always presented as white people in every scenario, and so this story just did not make the cut. How could an event so tragic and paying such little regard to human life not make it through to our Television screens on a global scale?

Well, i argue that it is because the victims just are not white enough.

The fluctuating value of black life

It all boils down to this: black lives only matter sometimes. Only when the loss of black life is tied by the media to sensationalism,racial tension and victim/aggressor uncertainty between black and white communities (such as the examples we have been seeing in America recently), is there any real attention given from western media. The 147 people slain in Kenya were undoubtedly innocent victims, however the coverage remains sparse. It seems that a tragedy such as the one in Kenya has been categorised as something that just happens in ‘those type of countries, ‘ and is not a matter the west feel they should be concerning themselves with.

The racial tensions in America received global media attention.

The story of the Garissa University massacre in Kenya and the global respect that should have been shown because of the significance of human life and the loss of it, was hung out by the western media to dry, in the rain.

When Facebook harassed me with notifications asking if I would like to turn my profile picture background to blue, red and white in support of Paris, I just thought nah, Facebook you are too rude. I like to think that I engage my critical thinking skills enough not to be swept along with waves of mediated uninformed solidarity, without taking the time to look into the intricacies of the situation, especially when there is no call to action to do the same for people who look like me.

but do they?

The same media that attempted to hi-jack the ‘black lives matter’ movement in favour of ‘all lives matter’, have shown that they infact do not believe this to be true themselves. In an attempt to remain somewhat even handed on this topic however, I must raise the point that we as black people cannot sit and expect others to tell our stories well, or tell them at all. We also should not base the value of black life on the amount of attention that the white world gives it for any other purpose then for it’s own entertainment.

Yes Black lives matter: Just not to all of the people, all of the time.